Dodgers Prospect Watch: Willie Calhoun Still Sizzling at the Dish

Now trailing Colorado Springs by just three games in the Pacific Coast League’s American Northern division, the bats of the Oklahoma City Dodgers continue to stay hot, with infield prospect Willie Calhoun being the center of attention on what seems to be a daily basis.

In the middle game of a three game set against Round Rock on Saturday evening, Calhoun went yard for the third straight game, spearheading OKC to a 10-5 victory and the squad’s third consecutive win.

Calhoun ripped a two-run blast over the right field wall in the bottom of the third inning, driving in left fielder O’Koyea Dickson who had reached on an RBI double. The 22-year-old native of Vallejo became the first OKC Dodger to homer three games in a row this year, and the first since Corey Brown pulled off the feat in July of last season.

For the year, Calhoun is slashing an impressive .292/.339/.548 over 219 AB in 56 games. His 64 hits and 120 total bases lead the team, and his 13 long balls, 11 doubles and 31 RBI are all second to Dickson. He’s even tied for third on the club with three stolen bases. To boot, he also appeared defensively in left field defensively twice this week, further attempting to show the management crew of the Dodgers his willingness to do whatever it takes to climb the organizational ladder.

As one of the youngest players at the Double-A level in 2016, Calhoun won multiple Texas League Player of the Week honors, represented Double-A Tulsa in the league’s All-Star Game, participated in the MLB All-Star Futures Game, and ran away with MVP honors in the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Stars Game last November.

Calhoun was chosen by the Dpodgers in the fourth round of the 2015 draft, and quickly zipped through three levels of the Dodgers’ farm system upon joining the organization, producing an overall slash line of .316/.390/.519 that same season. Last year, he hit .254/.318/.469 with 27 long balls and 88 RBI in 132 games for Tulsa before being promoted to OKC for the club’s PCL playoff run.

Calhoun and Dickson, along with outfielder Alex Verdugo and starting pitcher Trevor Oaks, are currently leading the charge of representing Oklahoma City in the 2017 Triple-A All-Star Game being held in Tacoma, Washington on July 12. Fans are encouraged to support their favorite OKC players, as a maximum of 25 ballots may be submitted per person. The fan balloting results will count as one-third of the total and will be used in conjunction with votes cast by the media and Triple-A field/general managers to determine the Triple-A All-Star Game starters. Electronic ballots are conveniently available on the Oklahoma City website.